Celebrating Gold - the Foundation of
Dunedin's Rich Heritage
Please Note: There have been a number of changes to the festival events since the printed programme was released. For the latest festival events and information please go the individual events listings on this website.
150 years ago, when Gabriel Read made the first major discovery of gold in Otago, at Gabriel's Gully, he well and truly put Dunedin on the world map. Dunedin became the gateway to the goldfields, and the Otago Goldrush became the catalyst that laid the foundations of Dunedin's rich heritage. 'Layers of Gold' celebrates not just the discovery of gold in 1861, but the rich layers of the city's past that have been woven into the fabric that is our vibrant city today.
Before the discovery of gold in 1861 Otago and Southland's population was just under 7,000. Ten years later it was almost 70,000. The massive influx of people from New Zealand and from many parts of the world brought prosperity to the region and saw Dunedin transformed from a small and struggling settlement to New Zealand's most prosperous and influential city of the day.
The goldrush brought fortune seekers, miners and merchants, farmers and blacksmiths, hotel keepers, entertainers and entrepreneurs; hardy people, colourful people. They built a city of 'firsts' – NZ's: first University, first Medical School, first Girls High School (first in the southern Hemisphere), first kindergarten and first Technical College, first Art School and first national arts fellowships. In commerce, Dunedin began NZ's frozen meat export trade, it started the pulp and paper industry, the printing industry and opened the country's first coal mine. Many of New Zealand's most successful companies have their origins in Dunedin. It also led the way in communications with the first telephone call, the first radio broadcast and the first daily newspaper - the Otago Daily Times. Dunedin also has a legacy of generous benefactors that have enriched the city's cultural heritage.
In 2011 the Bank of New Zealand, Allied Press, Cerebos Greggs, the Otago Chamber of Commerce, Galloway Cook Allan and the Dunedin Fire Brigade will all celebrate their 150th anniversaries.
Dunedin is a proud city of outstanding achievements and outstanding people. The 'Layers of Gold' celebrations, set against the backdrop of the city's fine Victorian and Edwardian architecture, will be an opportunity to reflect on the past, enjoy and celebrate the present and look forward to the next 'layer of gold' the city's future will undoubtedly unfold.
From the lunchtime "Piping In" on Friday to the midnight toll of the city clock at the end of Otago Anniversary Weekend, heed the call of the Town Crier as she beckons you to step right up, to indulge your senses and enjoy.
David Cull – Mayor of Dunedin
